


Sastiel Love Week March 2017

by Mad_Birdy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Sastiel Love Week, Trans Male Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:12:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14498751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Birdy/pseuds/Mad_Birdy
Summary: All seven days worth of Sam and Castiel's crazy, wonderful, bittersweet relationship. Mostly canon compliant.





	1. Angels Can Change

**Author's Note:**

> First kiss, first fight, first time

_ First kiss _

“I found a liquor store.”

“And?”

“And I drank it.”

In the hours after that, while Dean is still gone, Sam learns that having consumed the entire contents of a liquor store only served to make Cas even more bluntly honest. But it also reveals that the angel does, in fact, feel emotions like a human.

“The other angels say you’re an abomination, Sam,” he says at one point, lying upside down on the couch and face slowly reddening from the rush of blood to his head as it hangs off the edge. “But I don't see you that way at all. I think you’re beautiful, actually.”

Sam chokes on the water he’s drinking, and Cas shows mild concern. “You what?” the hunter manages eventually.

“I think you’re beautiful,” the angel repeats, sitting up and gazing at Sam seriously. “Not just your body, because I can’t deny it is very nice, but your soul. It’s one of the most brilliant human souls I’ve ever seen. Actually, now that I think about it, it reminds me of Joan of Arc’s soul. I think she’s the only one in the last two thousand years to have a soul as bright as yours.”

Sam is speechless, and then he’s kissing him. It takes his brain a moment to process it. Sam Winchester, abomination -- no, beautiful, bright soul, a voice says -- is kissing a  _ fucking angel _ .

When he finally pulls away for breath, Castiel is smirking like hell, his eyes almost flashing with grace. “I’d heard that humans tended to react that way to confessions of admiration,” he says. “I’m glad that rumor was true.”

The smug look on his face is so damn irritating that Sam kisses it right off him.

 

_ First fight _

“I spent all that time trying to get through to you. Dean calls once, and now it’s ‘Hello’?”

“Yes.”

“So, what, you -- you like him better or something?”

“Dean and I do share a more profound bond.”

The words echo around Sam’s head for hours afterwards. After the case is settled and Balthazar is dealt with, Sam finds time for himself while Dean is out hitting up a bar. He remembers how he used to feel, before he went to Hell, remembers that he’d been falling in love with the angel who’d discovered free will and went against his Father to help his friends. The words Castiel had said about sharing a deeper bond with Dean had rankled Sam, gone against what he’d known. He sits on the bed and begins to pray.

“Castiel, you son of a bitch. You may not have answers for what happened to me but you owe me an explanation for whatever the fuck that was in the hotel earlier.”

The flutter of wings makes him look up, and the angel stands there in all his trench-coated, tired glory. “Sam.” The hunter opens his mouth, but Castiel raises his hand and cuts him off. “I can explain.”

“You’d better do it fucking quick, then.”

“It would not be right for an angel and a human to engage in sexual intercourse.”

There’s a moment of stunned silence. “What??”

“You and I should not sleep…”

“That’s not what I called you down here for, Cas!” Sam stands and storms over to the angel, and for once the celestial being actually seems smaller than him, more timid. “I don’t fucking care about fucking you, all I know is a year ago I thought I was falling in love with you, and I thought maybe you felt the same. But now you and Dean ‘share a more profound bond’? Seriously? What the hell? And why would you think I called you down here to talk about sex?”

Confusion crosses the angel’s face, and he does a double-take. “Oh, I… I assumed you wanted to sleep with me since most humans, when struggling with emotions, choose sex as a way to alleviate that awkwardness. Especially you, recently. But…” He takes a moment, gathering his words, and Sam crosses his arms, raising his eyebrows. “Angels are not meant to feel emotions, and whatever I was or wasn’t feeling before you went to Hell is irrelevant now. It would not be a good idea for you and I to begin some sort of romantic relationship, even if I did feel emotions for you now. As for Dean, I only mean we share a more profound bond in that I have literally touched his soul when I dragged him from Hell, therefore we are linked in a way you and I are not.”

“Oh.” Words escape Sam for a moment. “Well. Great. That’s… good to know.”

Cas tilts his head. “You’re… still upset.”

The hunter lets his head roll back, exasperation clearly etched in his features. “Well yeah! I mean… you know what I am, Cas. You know why it matters to me. You…” He stops mid-sentence, shaking his head. “No, never mind. Just go.”

“Sam…”

“No, Cas. You don’t care, not any more, so just leave.”

 

_ First time _

“Sam, I want Gadreel to pay as much as you do. But nothing is worth losing you. You know, being human, it didn’t just change my view of food. It changed my view of you. I mean, I can relate now to how you feel.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you… is me. And now I know what that guilt feels like. And I know what it… I know what it means to feel sorry, Sam. I am sorry.”

Later, one line from that whole conversation sticks with Sam. “Angels can change,” Cas had said, and Sam wonders if he really means it. It’s been three years since the angel had told him that they shouldn’t be involved romantically, and Sam, even after regaining his soul and realizing what his whole tirade against Cas had been about, hadn’t pushed the matter. But now…

On a hunch, he goes to the library and finds Cas sitting on one of the couches next to the fireplace, reading from the old battered copy of  _ The Lord of the Rings _ . Sam stands in front of him, shifting from foot to foot, and eventually Cas looks up. “What is it, Sam?”

“Cas, do you…” He takes a deep breath. “Do you have… any… feelings for me now?”

The angel tilts his head, thoughtful, and then puts the book aside and scoots over to make room on the couch for Sam. The hunter sits, and Cas says, “Yes.”

“I… what?”

“I’m assuming, based on what I know about you and the little bit of information I’m gleaning from the thoughts you’re practically screaming at me right now, that you’re asking because of what I said years ago while you were soulless.”

“You’re… not wrong.”

Castiel sighs deeply and looks down at his hands in his lap. “I knew something was wrong, I guessed it had to do with your soul, but at the time my priorities wouldn’t let me investigate. I also knew I couldn’t risk letting emotions get in the way of what I was trying to accomplish, which was a mistake. But it’s why I told you I didn’t feel anything for you. It was all a lie, of course. When we discovered your soul was missing, I blamed myself. How had I gotten Dean out of Hell in one piece but not you? It plagued me, but I know that’s not an excuse for not telling you sooner about how I feel.”

“Cas…”

“Wait, I’m almost done. I’ve loved you in a way that surpasses normal human platonic and even romantic love for nearly as long as I’ve known you. Like I said all those years ago, your soul is the brightest and most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. How could I not fall for the boy who has always faced adversity and always overcome it, despite great pain and suffering on his part?”

Words abandon Sam, and he practically throws himself into Castiel’s arms, which wrap around him perfectly like puzzle pieces finally falling into place.

They end up falling into bed together later that night, bodies moving sensuously against each other as clothes are shed. Sam feels like all his secrets are being removed one by one, each already known and understood and accepted by Castiel, until all that remains are two long, pale scars across his chest, just under his nipples. In a similar situation, with anyone else, Sam would have been self-conscious, avoiding eye contact and subconsciously crossing his arms. But with the angel, there’s none of that fear. The knowledge that Cas has already seen his soul and known the truth is soothing, allowing Sam to relax in his presence.

Cas knows the significance of the scars, knows what it means to Sam to be naked like this with him. So he’s gentle, reverent, kisses his nipples as his fingers trace the lines carefully before wandering down to pleasure. Little gasps and moans leave Sam’s lips, followed by similar noises from the angel, and then climax, bursts of color behind pleasure-clenched eyelids and the soft panting afterwards.


	2. Bittersweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment they knew

It was a small sort of realization for Sam. He’d always been one to fall in love easily, though teasing from his brother early on had taught him not to talk about ~feelings~ and that sex with a girl was what was important. He’d fallen in love with so many people, though, that the eventual realization of deeper feelings was almost always delayed or muted in excitement. Usually it came with a small bit of fear,  _ will they accept me for who I am? will they return my feelings? _ But he’d been lucky, nine times out of ten, and most of the people he’d loved had been amazing, wonderful people.

He’d been lying in bed when the realization had washed over him. Some tiny motel bed with his feet hanging off the end (he always marveled, a little proud of his body, that he’d managed to grow taller than average despite his supposed “disadvantage” at birth) and it had just hit him. He cared about Cas as deeply as he’d cared for Jess and Brady, and he’d scoffed to himself a little. Of course he would fall in love with an angel, of all people, and realize it just before he was supposed to sacrifice himself in an effort to stop the apocalypse. It was bittersweet, and complicated, and so he kept it to himself.

 

But Castiel… oh, when Cas realized he was in love with the hunter, his world nearly fell apart. He’d known for years that Sam loved him, was in love with him, but he’d never acted on it because he didn’t believe he returned the feelings. Sure, there was that time that he’d come close, when he was drunk and they’d kissed for the first time. But angels weren’t meant to feel emotions; those were reserved for humans, and humans alone. So there was no way he could return Sam’s feelings, and he knew Sam deserved someone who could feel the same way.

Then, he’d become human. And it had all hit him, all the emotions hidden under the surface of his grace. And he realized that he did love Sam in return. He’d never felt romantic attraction before and the emotion swept through him like an avalanche. Angels and humans, they weren’t meant to be together, it was law. But… he wasn’t an angel any more, was he? He made the decision, then, to tell Sam as soon as possible, because maybe he wasn’t the best and didn’t have any experience with it, but damn if he didn’t love Sam with all of his being. And then… he’d stolen grace and it was too late. Sure, he still slept with Sam after telling him how much he meant to him, but it was bittersweet. Cas knew it couldn’t last; after all, angels and humans weren’t meant to be, no matter how much an angel could change.


	3. PDA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Outsider's perspective

If there’s anything Charlie Bradbury knows for sure about herself, it’s that her gaydar is spot on. Well, maybe not as spot on as her hacking skills, but pretty damn close. So when she meets Sam Winchester, she knows from the start that he’s about as straight as the curly fries she gets at her favorite burger place. Just like she can tell that he and Castiel are in a relationship the first time she’s with them together in the same space. Because even though Dean has the Mark, and Sam’s hiding the Book of the Damned, and Cas is trying to figure out where he belongs, all of those worries seem to fade from the angel and the hunter whenever they look at each other.

She watches the way they gravitate towards each other, like two suns locked together at the center of a solar system. She knows that sometimes relationships can be a little more one-sided, with one being the sun and the other being a planet in their orbit, but not with these two. She smiles as Cas leans too close to his human while Sam’s pouring drinks for everyone, notices how Sam will come close to resting his chin on the angel when reading over his shoulder. There’s the feeling that these two lovebirds don’t care for public displays of affection, but that behind closed doors, they’re far more relaxed. A little niggle at the back of her head makes her think it’s something to do with the older brother in the room, but she’s not certain.

She only gets a glimpse of their ease and comfort together once. The Mark is taken care of, the Darkness has been appeased, and Charlie had managed to convince Dean to go on a road trip to Vegas. Not to hunt anything, but just to relax. Hit up some of his favorite towns and bars along the way, make sure he takes a long time. As soon as he’s hit the road, the atmosphere in the bunker changes perceptibly. Castiel changes into, wonder of wonders, a pair of low-slung sweats and one of Sam’s v-necks, and Sam himself walks around in just a pair of workout shorts.

Charlie leaves them alone most of the time while Dean’s gone, because Sam had mentioned briefly that it would technically be their anniversary soon. But she comes over one day with some gifts and finds them, not in Sam’s room watching Netflix as usual, but rather on a pile of blankets on the floor in the library in front of the fireplace. Sam’s smooth voice is reading from  _ The Lord of the Rings _ (somewhere in the middle of  _ Two Towers _ , with the Rohirrim; Charlie knows that book inside and out). She peeks carefully in, smiling softly at the sight: Sam is on his back, the angel laying across his chest, and the book carefully propped up over Castiel’s shoulder. She’s loathe to interrupt the moment, but knows it’d be better if she dropped off the gift and left them to themselves again.

So she clears her throat, holds up the bag, explains that it’s just some bath bombs and candles and stuff for them to celebrate their anniversary, and then leaves it on the table on her way out as they call out their thanks. About an hour later, she gets a text from Sam, again thanking her, followed shortly by a picture of two pairs of feet sticking out of silver-purple water and propped on the edge of the tub.


	4. How to Make V-Day Gay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day or general date night

Castiel has always found human culture fascinating, and once he and Sam decided they were “officially” dating (whatever that really meant in the hunting life), he started researching. He’d heard about Valentine’s Day but didn’t really know much about it. What he found didn’t help much; just a bunch of articles about “the perfect gifts for her this Valentine’s Day”. He closed the laptop with a sigh, then pulled out his phone. He supposed he could text Dean and ask, although he wasn’t sure that was something Dean would know much more about than the internet. Scrolling through his contacts, Charlie’s name popped up, and he tilted his head. Oh. She’d probably be able to help him.

 

I need your help. >

< What’s wrong? Is there a hunt?

No, it’s about Sam. >

< Is he hurt??

No, no. I’m just trying to figure out >

the concept of Valentine’s Day.

< Ohhhhhh

< Have you looked it up?

Yes, but all the computer told me >

was about how heterosexual couples

celebrate the holiday.

< LMAO

< So you wanna know how gay people

   celebrate V-Day

Yes, because Sam and I are gay. >

 

Charlie told him that there wasn’t much to celebrating Valentine’s Day, regardless of sexual orientation. Plan something nice, a little out of the ordinary from other dates, and maybe get Sam a gift or something.

The day arrived and Cas stirred himself from his semi-conscious rest, smiling down at a still-sleeping Sam. The hunter, usually so tall and formidable, was curled up around him like an over-grown puppy. After kissing his forehead softly, the angel extracted himself from the tangle of limbs as carefully as he could so as not to wake Sam and then padded down the hallway to make breakfast. By the time he’d finished and went back to the bedroom, Sam had woken and was stretching languidly across the bed.

The angel smiles softly. “Good morning, Sam. Happy Valentine’s Day.” Sam sits up against the headboard, allowing Cas to set the tray of food in his lap.

“G’morning, Cas,” he says in return as his boyfriend sits next to him. “Thanks. This smells delicious.”

Sam ate, and then it turned out that they’d both made plans for the other to celebrate the holiday. Sam ceded and let Cas carry out his plans, since it was the angel’s first Valentine’s Day. So after dressing, they headed out to the pound. Cas had arranged to foster a dog for the day as a way to introduce Sam to the program there, letting him choose which one he wanted. It took nearly thirty minutes for the hunter to decide, but eventually they left for the dog park with a Husky-dachshund mix. Cas had bought toys and a leash for the outing, and they spent easily four hours playing with little Kale.

Next was a grazing sort of lunch as they walked through a farmer’s market, and Sam picked out some fruits and vegetables to take back to the bunker to add color to their daily meals. They returned home, since Cas was planning to finish the day with a Netflix session. But when he walked into the bedroom after putting the groceries away for Sam, who’d gone ahead, he was met with a surprise: Sam, sitting on the bed in only his underwear, with a simple brown box in his lap.

“What’s this?” Cas asked softly, smiling.

A light blush covered Sam’s cheeks. “A present, for Valentine’s Day.” He held out the box to his boyfriend, and Cas took it, prying the lid off.

Inside was… a strap-on harness and dildo. It was long and slightly curved, not too thick. The angel’s face heated up and he looked at Sam. “Um…”

“It’s for me, technically,” he said quickly. “But, I… I thought I’d get it in case you, ya know, wanted to… try it, sometime.”

“Sam, you know that you don’t need something like this to please me, right?”

“No, yeah, I know, I know. I just wanted to be able to if you and I felt in the mood. To switch it up a little.”

A smile slowly grew on Castiel’s face. “Okay. That… sounds like it would be fun.” He set the box on the desk, shedding layers of clothing. “But tonight, I think we agreed on marathoning the last four episodes of Orange is the New Black, to catch up.”

Sam chuckled, scooting back to lean on the headboard. “We did agree on that.” Cas climbed into the bed and Sam set up the laptop, and then they were snuggled close together, happy and content.


	5. Lawyer and Librarian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU

I’d love a good librarian AU, ya know? Or maybe a librarian/lawyer AU.

Like, Sam has gone to Stanford, became a lawyer. The library at the college had always been his favorite thing, and not just because of the books and fantasies he could immerse himself in. During his time there, there had been a librarian who was quiet and stern and had eyes so blue he’d had wet dreams about them. He hadn’t made a move, however, since he was dating Jess at the time, so all he learned was that the librarian’s name was Castiel Novak and that he’d grumble while hiding a smile when Sam would leave piles of read books on the return desk.

Later, when Sam’s in Washington, D.C. doing important lawyer-ing stuff and maybe getting talked into politics (a.k.a. how Sam Winchester saves our world by hunting a different kind of monster), he starts frequenting the Library of Congress. It’s both to research old, public-access cases and to relieve stress for himself after a hard day in court, until he recognizes a particular shock of dark, messy hair and that deep, rumbling voice that could break a mountain in half. And so he discovers that Castiel Novak was employed full-time at the Library of Congress and had been sent to Stanford for those four years to lead an effort to restore and organize the school’s collection of old, priceless books. Cas (as Sam comes to affectionately call him) slowly falls for Sam’s charms and lets the younger man pull him out of his shell.

(also maybe eventually Jess - who had decided she wasn’t ready to settle down and wanted to travel the world doing some good with her medical degree, so she had split with Sam - comes to DC as a top witness for a case because of her medical expertise and introduces the two to the idea of polyamory… because I’m a sucker for poly ships)


	6. The Aftermath of the Trials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy, misunderstandings, etc, a.k.a. the angst™

Honestly the show has given us enough angst between these two and about these two to last us forever. But I think, for the sake of the prompt, that there’s a possibility of angst for early season 9 between these two, with Gadreel possessing Sam and Cas being human.

Castiel knows how Sam feels about him, has known for a while. So when Sam is the reason Dean cites for having to kick him out, he’s rightfully confused. And hurt. Dean insists it’s to protect Sam, to make sure he has time to heal after the Trials, because Cas will bring danger to the bunker. But that makes no sense, because the bunker is one of the safest places on Earth, even the angels couldn’t find him there unless they already knew where it was.

He goes anyway, because he’d do anything for Sam, anything to keep him safe. Slowly getting used to his newly-human body, he learns of hunger and pain and tiredness that’s bone deep. Gets the tattoo to block angelic view, manages to survive on the hospitality and generosity of strangers. In the back of his head, though, he keeps thinking about Sam. The more he thinks, the more his mind convinces him that the reason he was kicked out was because Sam didn’t want to be around him any more, couldn’t see past his mistakes, especially the most recent (the closing of Heaven). Rationally, the thoughts make no sense, but they wiggle their way inside anyway, the pain of being refused forgiveness as constant as the pain in his feet.

Sam is just as confused when Castiel leaves. Dean gives some off-handed answer, sounding too much like a lie. Didn’t Cas know how much Sam wanted him to stay, wanted to help him adjust to being a human? He would have never told anyone, but Sam had little dreams in his mind, scenarios like introducing the former-angel to all different kinds of food, watching Netflix with him, helping him pick out clothes now that he’d have to wash them instead of using angel grace to keep them clean. The more he thinks about Cas and why he’d leave, the more he becomes convinced that he left because he was tired of Sam, that he didn’t return his feelings so he left.

And that hurts, that burrows its way down deep into Sam’s heart; a name added to the list of people who’ve left him, voluntarily or not (although it’s inscribed a bit deeper for being perceived as voluntary). As the weeks pass and he begins to feel more and more like a stranger in his own body - losing time, the comment that he’s “held together with duct tape and safety pins”, how he feels better but still tired and sore and  _ w r o n g _ \- he begins to feel the sense of abandonment even more. Dean dismisses his feelings, tells him, basically, to shut up and just accept what’s happening. He wishes, more than anything, that Castiel would come back, just to have someone new to see.

So when Gadreel is revealed and Castiel steals grace and Dean leaves to work with Crowley, Sam is actually… relieved. As wrong as it seems, he’s almost happy with the new turn of events. Cas, his Cas, is back. Even after the failed attempt at tracking Gadreel, he’s still content. (After their first time, they clean up and then just lay in bed, talking about what’s happened to each of them in the past months. They both realize that their feelings of abandonment and of being unable to be forgiven are based on lies and deceit. Cas does deserve forgiveness, and Sam gives it willingly and abundantly. Sam has not been abandoned and he is master of his own body again, and Cas helps him rediscover that.)


	7. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff

It’s a quiet day in the bunker. Sam had been working on the digitizing of the bunker’s resources, meticulously scanning the pages of an old spellbook. He’s so focused on his work that he barely registers the commotion at the bunker door. Loud voices, multiple sets of feet pounding down the stairs, squeals of laughter, and by the time he finally notices and looks up, there’s a whirlwind of activity around him.

Magda and Claire run into the war room with Kale (Sam and Cas had ended up adopting the little dusky after fostering him), laughing. Dean’s carrying an armful of groceries, shouting at the girls about making a mess. Castiel walks behind him, also with groceries, but he stops to greet Sam. “Hello, Sam,” he says, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “How is the work going?”

Sam smiles and returns the kiss, stretching his arms behind his head. “It’s going. I’m almost halfway done with the library.”

“That’s amazing progress. I can help you after I put this food away.”

“No, no, that’s okay.” The hunter stands up, smiling. “I think I’m done for today. I’d like to spend some time with my family.” He takes a bag of groceries and heads for the kitchen.

Castiel smiles and follows. Family. He’d never imagined that he could have something like that, for real, that would actually make him happy. For millennia the angels had been his “family” but he’d discovered that they only cared about cookie-cutter obedience, not free will. Slowly, the humans he’d come to know in his time on Earth had become the family he’d wanted.

Claire, daughter of his vessel, who at first had wanted nothing to do with him but eventually came to see him as a friend and trusted confidant, if not a father. Dean, the hunter, his best friend; they’d had their falling outs and fights and times where everything was wrong, but now everything was right and good. Charlie, red-headed ball of energy and enthusiasm, teaching him human things and how to enjoy life. Magda, the psychic girl, so like Sam, but rescued from her abusive family and helped, loved, taught, nurtured. And last, but in no way least, Sam Winchester, brightest soul he’d ever seen, purest heart, deepest love, most willing to forgive and give of himself in order to heal and help others.

Dean cooks, his usual mind-blowingly good burgers and sweet potato fries (at Sam’s insistence), and they all sit around the kitchen table. Claire regales them with stories of the shenanigans she and her friends get up to at the local community college. Magda mentions she’s finished  _ Harry Potter _ and needs to find something new to read, and Sam promises to drive her out to Kansas City to get some new books (the library there thankfully has long rental periods). Kale lays down at Dean’s feet and everyone pretends not to notice when he slips the last bite of his burger to the dog, despite his insistence that dogs don’t get fed from the table.

Afterwards, Dean sits the girls down to “educate” them on “classic films” (one of the tables in the library is covered with every  _ Die Hard _ ,  _ Taken _ , and  _ Fast and Furious _ movie ever made) while Sam and Cas retreat to their room. The angel removes his trench, suit jacket, belt, and shoes, untucking his shirt as he sits on the bed. Sam flops beside him, head in his lap, and for a while they just stay like that, Castiel’s fingers moving through his lover’s long, soft hair. Then he leans over and grabs something out of his coat. “Here,” he says softly. “I got you a book.”

Sam opens his eyes, smiling. “You found one I don’t already have?” He takes it, reading the cover. “Oh, wow! I love  _ Dune _ , but I hadn’t managed to find a copy. Thank you, babe.” He snags Cas’ tie and drags him down for a kiss.

The angel smiles, pulling away a little. “I knew you liked it. I remember you telling me once that science fiction is a favorite of yours. Especially this one, because of a passage… about courage, right?”

“Right, the quote itself actually has to do with fear, but there’s a litany that the main character says that I’ve always thought of when I’ve needed a boost of courage.”

“Would you read me the passage?” Cas asks softly.

“Of course!” Sam opens the book, skimming a little until he finds the scene where Paul is being tested by putting his hand in a device that will cause pain. “‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’”

There’s a moment of silence. “That’s incredible,” Castiel says, reverence clear in his voice. “No wonder you’ve always been so brave, with a reminder such as that.”

A blush creeps up Sam’s cheeks and he shrugs. “I’ve had to be brave. But… little things like this do help. Books are more than just idle entertainment. They can teach us so much. And I’ve been lucky to have found books that help me when I most need it. Not to mention a wonderful lover in the form of an angel.”

This time it’s Cas’ turn to blush, and he smiles. “I’m just as lucky to have found a human who’ll accept me as I am, to teach me about family and hope and love.” Sam grins widely and pulls his boyfriend back down for another kiss.


End file.
